guerrilla

Pluralguerrillas

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A soldier in a small, independent group that fights a government or regular army through surprise raids.

   A lone guerrilla slipped past the checkpoint before dawn.

   The mountain villages quietly sheltered guerrillas throughout the long war.

   Similarinsurgent, rebel, partisan, irregular

   Note

   A word that crossed into English from Spanish, where guerrilla is the diminutive of guerra, "war": literally a "little war," coined during the Peninsular War. In everyday English it names the fighter, with the plural guerrillas, and often stands before another noun, as in left-wing guerrilla groups. Its synonym guerrillero keeps a Spanish ending, while the "little war" itself survives mainly in the now-rare "war" meaning.

2. 2
   adjective

   Relating to or typical of warfare waged by small, independent, non-official groups using surprise raids rather than conventional battle.

   The insurgents adopted a guerrilla strategy, avoiding open battle in favor of ambush.

   Decades of guerrilla resistance kept the occupying forces from ever controlling the countryside.

   Similarirregular, insurgent, partisan

   Oppositeconventional

   Note

   Military writers treat this as a true adjective, not just a noun placed before another noun. It can be graded and can stand after a verb. Samuel B. Griffith's 1963 translation of Mao Zedong describes troops as "more guerrilla than orthodox," and Walter Laqueur in 1976 calls the Slovak uprising "not guerrilla in character." In this register, its natural opposite is orthodox, the word for regular armies fighting set battles.

3. 3
   adjective

   Using unconventional, non-traditional, and often subversive methods to get something done, outside the usual channels.

   The artists staged a guerrilla performance in the subway without any permit.

   Their guerrilla approach to organizing relied on word of mouth rather than official channels.

   Similarunofficial, underground, unconventional, subversive, unauthorized

   Oppositeofficial, conventional, mainstream

   Note

   The military word stretched to cover peaceful pursuits: the tactics of small, unofficial groups applied to almost any field. It goes before a noun naming an activity, as in guerrilla gardening, guerrilla tourism, or the guerrilla theater promised for a 1976 Boston protest in Gay Community News. Unlike the marketing adjective, which belongs to one trade, this sense is open-ended. The noun names the field, and guerrilla brings the outsider's methods.

4. 4
   adjective

   Relating to or typical of marketing that uses surprising, low-cost, unconventional tactics to promote a product.

   The agency pitched a guerrilla campaign built around flash mobs and chalk art.

   Small companies often favor guerrilla tactics because they cost little and spread fast online.

   Similarunconventional

   Oppositetraditional, conventional

   Note

   Marketing defines it by what it refuses: big budgets and broadcast slots. InformationWeek put it plainly in 2005, calling Mozilla's marketing "very guerrilla" because the company was riding a ground swell instead of spending millions on TV. It pairs naturally with approach, campaign and tactics. Like the military adjective, it grades freely: very guerrilla, more guerrilla.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   A marketer who promotes products using surprising, unconventional, low-cost techniques rather than traditional advertising.

   The guerrilla pitched a stunt that put the brand's logo on manhole covers across downtown.

   Every good guerrilla knows that one viral photo can outperform a month of paid advertising.

6. 6
   nouncountable

   A person who produces unconventional, independent television made outside the established mainstream broadcasting channels.

   The guerrilla built a loyal audience by streaming gritty documentaries the networks would never touch.

   Working as a guerrilla, she distributed her programs on cheap tapes long before streaming existed.

Showing meanings only. Show all 7